The Christmas Man

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John 1:1

In the journals of the modern Academy we may read, “In the beginning were the Chemicals, and the Chemicals were with God, for the Chemicals were God. And after billions and billions of years, the Chemicals became fish, birds, dinosaurs, and man. And man said, ‘Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.'”

That is not what John is saying in John 1, where he deals with the question: Who can explain God to us? Many centuries ago Rabbi Ben-Sirah asked this question, but he could not provide an answer. Philosopher Plato also thought about it, telling his students that perhaps someday a word (logos) would come from God to explain all mysteries and make everything plain. John the Evangelist identifies the Word as Jesus Christ (John 1:17), who came into the world from the bosom of the Father to exegete the Father’s love to us miserable sinners.

John, therefore, begins his gospel: “In the beginning was the Word.” He does not say, “In the beginning were the dinosaurs.” He does not say, “In the beginning was man,” or “In the beginning was matter” or “In the beginning was creation.” No, he says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God” (John 1:1). Then he says, “The Word became flesh” (John 1:14). The shortest account of the virgin birth is given to us by John: “kai ho logos sarx egeneto.”

The gospel of John stands apart from the synoptic gospels. It was written for unbelievers that they may come to confess Jesus Christ as the Son of God and that by believing in him they may have eternal life (John 20:31). Who Is Jesus Christ?

In the prologue of this gospel (John 1:1-18), John tells his readers that they should realize the words and deeds revealed in the rest of the gospel are those of Jesus, who is God himself. They should believe in Christ, worship him, obey him, and serve him.

The question before us is: “Who is Jesus Christ?” In fact, Jesus himself put this question to his disciples at Caesarea Philippi: “Who do you say that I am?” The disciples themselves asked: “Who is this, that even the wind and the waves obey him?” The scribes and Pharisees asked: “Who is this man who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

On the last week when Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey we are told the whole city asked, “Who is this?” Jesus himself answers this question throughout this gospel, especially by repeating the phrase, “I am (Egô eimi).”

1. “Before Abraham was born, I am!” (John 8:58). Jesus was declaring that he is the eternal I AM who revealed himself to Moses (Exod. 3:14). He is the self-sufficient, independent, preexistent, infinite, personal God.
2. “I who speak to you am he,” Jesus said in answer to the Samaritan woman who spoke about the promised Messiah (John 4:26).
3. “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35).
4. “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12). He is the light that dispels darkness by defeating all evil, especially the prince of darkness, the ruler of this world.
5. “I am the gate” (John 10:9). Jesus is the only door through which one can enter the kingdom of God; there is no other.
6. “I am the good shepherd who lays down his life for the life of his sheep” (John 10:11).
7. “I am God’s Son” (John 10:36).
8. “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25).
9. “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).
10. “I am the true vine” (John 15:1). The Israelites, who were the old vine, never obeyed God nor brought forth fruit for God’s glory. But Jesus is the true vine who brings forth fruit for the Father’s glory. He fully obeyed God; therefore, God’s eternal purpose of saving us prospers in and through him.

Let us, then, carefully examine the introduction of John’s gospel to answer the question, “Who is Jesus Christ and what is his mission?”

He Is the Word

“In the beginning was the Word” (John 1:1). John is saying that this logos, the Word, is eternal. This statement affirms the preexistence of the Word. Paul writes, “He is before all things” (Col. 1:17). The prophet Micah said he is the one “whose origins are from of old, from ancient times” (Mic. 5:2). The Word has no beginning and no end; he is eternal and the originator of all created things.

This statement also affirms his personality. As the Word, he is the communication, the self-expression, of God the Father to us. He is the agent of God in creation, revelation, deliverance, and judgment.

The psalmist declared, “By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, their starry hosts by the breath of his mouth” (Ps. 33:6). Elsewhere we read, “God said, ‘Let there be light’ and there was light” (Gen. 1:3). In Psalm 107:20 we read, “He sent forth his word and healed them.” Isaiah says, “So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it” (Isa. 55:11).

When the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the Septuagint, was read in the synagogues, instead of the divine name, the readers would say “Ho logos,” meaning “the Word.” As humans, we reveal ourselves to others through our words. In the same way, God reveals himself to his creation through the personal agency of his eternal Word. God is not aloof from or indifferent to his creation. He delights in revealing himself to us through the Word, Jesus Christ.

The Word Was With God

“The Word was with God” (John 1:1). Here John is describing the personality of the Word and his distinction from the Father, his equality with the Father, and his eternal close association with the Father. The Word was pros ton theon, meaning the Word was toward God or face to face with God. The Word was in intimate fellowship with the Father, in the very bosom of the Father. Jesus speaks of this love relationship in his high priestly prayer: “And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. . . . Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world” (John 17:5, 24).

The Jews were monotheists, and John was a Jew. Yet he dares to assert the personality, co-equality and close association of the Word with the Father. John believed in one God existing in three Persons-the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. No one can be saved without such faith in the triune God. The Word Was God

Next, John asserts, “The Word was God” (John 1:1). In the Greek there is emphasis on the word “God.” The Word is deity. Nothing higher can be asserted about him. The psalmist spoke of this truth: “Your throne, O God, will last forever” (Ps. 45:6). In this context, God is speaking about his own Son, yet he calls him God. Isaiah says that to us a son will be given who is called Mighty God (Isa. 9:6). Jesus himself said, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30). Elsewhere he explained, “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9).

The Word Created All Things

“Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has not been made” (John 1:3). The Word created all things, visible and invisible, animate and inanimate, angels and men (though he did not create evil). All things were created for him and he is the heir of all things. Jesus Christ was before all things, and all things hold together in him. He created them, not out of preexisting matter, but ex nihilo, out of nothing. The very involvement of the Word in creation tells us that matter is not evil as the Greeks understood it to be.

John declares that the Word created all matter. Paul says the same thing: “Yet for us there is but one God the Father from whom all things came and for whom we live, and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live” (1 Cor. 8:6). Not only did Christ create them, but he also sustains moment by moment every creature, whether atheist, devil, or child of God. Look around at the world and at yourself. Jesus Christ gave us being and it is he who is sustaining us at this very moment. By his will every bird flies and by his will every human will die to face him as Judge.

In this assertion that the Word created all things, John denies that matter is eternal. He also denies the Gnostic idea that matter is evil. He denies that creation is from preexisting matter. He denies the independence of creation. He denies pantheism that says everything is God. He denies deification of nature and the environment. In Him Is Life

“In him was life” (John 1:4). The word “life” is used here in its broadest sense to speak of all life, whether physical or spiritual. Life in creation cannot exist without Jesus Christ. He is the source of all life. Therefore John would oppose all Darwinian ideas of life. The true origin of all life is not chemicals but Christ. There is intelligent design to the universe. Many advocates of intelligent design do not dare to assert that the Designer is Jesus Christ, but that is what the text is saying. It is not some undefined god or force or power.

Jesus gives life. In his epistle John writes, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched-this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. (PGM) The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us” (1 John 1:1-2). Jesus himself spoke of this often: “For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself” (John 5:26); “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25); “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10); “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:28). In him is life, in him alone is life, and in him alone is eternal life.

He Is Light

“That life was the light of men” (John 1:4). Jesus Christ is light. All knowledge comes through him, in other words. Man receives light through creation and through conscience, so he is without excuse when he stands before the Judge, Jesus Christ. All truth radiates from Jesus, who gives the light of the knowledge of God through the sacred Scriptures and through his incarnational life. He is the final and ultimate revelation of God to man: “In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe” (Heb. 1:1-2). Jesus said, “I am the light of the world” (John 9:5) He also said, “I have come into the world as a light so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness” (John 12:46); “Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds are evil” (John 3:19) How many people try to find their freedom and life in wealth, political power, drugs, or material possessions. But all these will disappoint us in due time. Light has come into the world; we must walk in the light.

“The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it” (John 1:5). The verb “shines” is in the present tense, indicating that this Jesus is shining continually in darkness. Man’s problem is not that there is no light, but that the eyes of all wicked people are blinded by the god of this world. “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ who is the image of God” ( 2 Cor. 4:4).

In the Greek this verse reads, “The light shines in darkness, and the darkness cannot overcome the light,” or “cannot defeat the light.” It is not “cannot understand the light.” That is understood. But the point John is making is that darkness cannot defeat light. In fact, the opposite is true: the light of the Word overcomes darkness. Jesus came to defeat moral evil and Satan, the prince of this world. He himself said so: “Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself” (John 12:31-32). Elsewhere he told his disciples, “I will not speak with you much longer, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold on me” (John 14:30). Satan had no hold on the sinless Christ. He also said, “The prince of this world now stands condemned” (John 16:11).

Jesus defeated the darkness of evil by his death on Calvary. He declared that he is building his church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. James exhorts us, “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). Darkness will flee when there is light. Jesus tells us, “You are the light of the world” (Matt. 5:14). God appointed Paul “to open [sinners’] eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me” (Acts 26:18). So Paul writes, “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light” (Eph. 5:8).

The Word Became Flesh

“The Word became flesh” (John 1:14). He who eternally was, became. This is the boldest statement of the virgin birth. It denies Docetism, which denied the humanity of Jesus, and Gnosticism, which denied that Christ came in the flesh. John did not say, “he became man,” but “he became flesh.” Jesus was a real historical man. He did not become an angel to redeem fallen angels. He loved us, so he became fully man to redeem us from our slavery to sin and Satan. He who eternally was became man in time. Flesh did not become God, but God became flesh. The Word was God, and the Word became flesh. This is a great mystery, but if we do not believe in the virgin birth, we cannot be Christians. There is no subtraction but only addition. The divine person took upon himself our frail human nature minus sin. Jesus Christ is God-man.

John Murray said this:

He who never began to be in his specific identity as Son of God, began to be what he eternally was not. . . .The infinite became the finite, the eternal and supratemporal entered time and became subject to its conditions, the immutable became the mutable, the invisible became the visible, the Creator became the created, the sustainer of all became dependent, the Almighty became infirm. God became man.¹

There is conjunction in one divine person of all that belongs to the Godhead and all that belongs to manhood. The Word became flesh, not by human begetting, but by the power of the Holy Spirit upon Mary. The Holy Spirit begat and Mary conceived and gave birth to a son. Jesus dwelt among us as Immanuel, “God with us.” We Have Seen His Glory

Then John says, “We have seen his glory” (John 1:14). Not everyone sees his glory but only those whose eyes have been opened by the Holy Spirit. His disciples beheld his glory and confessed that that Jesus was God-man. They saw his glory in his miracles, teachings, transfiguration, death, and resurrection. All true believers behold his glory in the Gospel of John.

The Word Reveals God to Us

“The Word . . . made his dwelling among us” (John 1:14). Christ came to explain the Father to us. He alone was qualified to do so because he alone was eternally with the Father in heaven. He alone has been in the closest association with the Father and has seen the Father in his essential glory. No man, not even Moses, has ever seen God as he essentially is. Jesus Christ revealed the Father to us. He who was in the bosom of the Father explained him to us so plainly that to see Jesus is to see the Father.

Paul says we see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ in the gospel. That means the gospel reveals Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ reveals God the Father. Through him we can understand the Father’s love for us and the Son’s love for us, and by faith we can say with Christ, “Our Father who art in heaven.”

This revelation of Jesus is the ultimate and final revelation of God to man. No more clear revelation is coming. We already have it in the Bible. Jesus came to give us eternal life, and he tells us, “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent” (John 17:3). Knowing God the Father by knowing Jesus Christ is eternal life.

Full of Grace and Truth

“[He] came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). In Jesus is fullness of grace and truth, which is not found in anyone else. He came as truth to give witness to truth. In Jesus we know who God is, who man is, what sin is, and what creation and redemption are. In Jesus alone there is fullness of grace, for he fulfilled God’s law in behalf of us fully. Why did the Word become flesh? Because the wages of sin is death and all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. God sent his Son to become man, yet without sin, that he may pay the price of our sin by his death on the cross. He gave him the cup of our wrath, and he took it and drank it.

In Jesus grace and truth kissed each other on the cross. We needed grace, not justice. Now grace flows from the cross for all who believe in Jesus. Grace (charis) comes from the word chara, which means joy. All sinners are under God’s wrath and so are miserable. You may have all the money in the world but if you are outside of Christ, you are miserable and hopeless. Joy comes through grace, and grace comes through Jesus Christ.

The virgin birth is for the sinners’ joy. Are you a sinner? The wrath of God is being revealed against you. You are dead in trespasses and sins. But look to Christ. Isaiah says, “To us a child is born, to us a son is given” (Isa. 9:6). He is given to us for our benefit, for our salvation, that we may draw grace and joy from him. Believe on the Lord Jesus and you shall sing the song of salvation.

Look at what happened to the blind man Jesus healed.

Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of man?” “Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.” Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.” Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him (John 9:35-38).

Look at doubting Thomas: “[Jesus] said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.’ Thomas said to him, ‘My Lord and my God!'” (John 20:27-28). This prologue is written that we also may know who Jesus is so that we may confess him, worship him, and be saved. Do You Know Who Jesus Is?

As we celebrate Christmas, I pray that we will all come to know the real purpose of Jesus’ birth. By his life and death he saves sinners and gives them the gift of eternal life. How many people think that Christmas is only about material gifts and reject the gift of eternal life that God has sent in Jesus Christ! He became flesh that he may die. The Hebrews writer says, “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death-that is, the devil-and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death” (Heb. 2:14-15).

Because Christ lives, we shall live also. He lives forever and so shall we. We shall never die; therefore, we need not fear death anymore. From his fullness we receive grace upon grace and blessing upon blessing. His grace is all we need.

Who is Jesus? In Jesus Christ all the fullness of the deity dwells in bodily form. The helpless, crying infant born in a manger in Bethlehem is deity wrapped in human flesh. The Father sent him to us to bring us from the shame of sin to the glory of the Son of God. Let us, therefore, bow down before him and “worship him without cessation, obey him without hesitation, love him without reservation, and serve him without interruption.”²

¹ John Murray, Collected Writings of John Murray: Volume Two, Select Lectures in Systematic Theology (Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1977), 132.

² David J. MacLeod, Bibliotheca Sacra, Volume 160 Number 637, p. 63-64.